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Pizza Party Bread

November 16, 2012 by 14 Comments

I know all good food bloggers are posting their best Thanksgiving recipes right now. They have that covered. Believe me, I’m thinking of the big show, too, but there are a lot of days between then and now and a lot of days afterward and it can’t be turkey and stuffing all the time.

This recipe today is for the parties. Obviously we’re party central this time of year. Between mid-October and the first week of January, every one of my five sons has their birthday. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. In other words, from mid-October to the first week of January we are the hap-hap-happiest, most festive household since National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. (Now, let’s see… who is our Cousin Eddie? Come on. You KNOW every family has one.) If it’s not a birthday party it’s a Thanksgiving party. If it’s not a Thanksgiving party, it’s a Christmas party. If it’s not a Christmas party it’s a New Year’s party. We cannot be the only household doing this right now.

See that bread? That’s a total sanity saver. It’s not only mega comfort food -can food get more awesome than bread/cheese/butter/garlic/pepperoni?- but it’s as easy as can be to make. The Pizza Party Bread is everything you love about pizza and garlic bread minus the call for take out or the time involved in making homemade pizza.

It’s party perfection… who can resist ooey, gooey, melted mozzarella on buttery garlic bread in the first place?Not me, I’ll tell ya that. And when you add lovely crisp little pieces of pepperoni? It’s all over but me licking the foil, folks.

To really drive that pizza flavour home, we like to serve this with a bowl of warmed pizza sauce for dipping on the side. And much like the recipe that inspired this one, there are never leftovers. Whether you serve this for a quiet movie night at home or in quantity for a party buffet, you’re going to be a very happy camper.

 

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Pizza Party Bread

Pizza Party Bread

Comfort food writ large. Scads of ooey, gooey mozzarella melted onto a pull-apart loaf of tender garlic bread studded with pepperoni. Does it get better than this? Maybe, but I can't see how!

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf Italian bread (16 ounces, by weight)
  • 1 pound grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1 stick (4 ounces by weight) butter
  • 1 large clove of garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 bunch of green onions (scallions) trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 24-30 slices of pepperoni, cut into quarters
  • Nonstick cooking spray and foil
  • Optional: additional chopped scallions for garnish.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (or preheat grill to medium heat). Lay out a double thickness of standard foil (or a single thickness of heavy-duty foil.) Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside

In a microwave safe bowl, or a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the butter until melted and mix in the garlic and sliced green onions. Stir with a serving spoon.

Lay the loaf of bread on the cutting board and cut a ½” grid pattern into it stopping about ¼” above the base of the bread so that it stays connected. Gently pry apart the bread and spoon the butter mixture along the seams. Gently wrap the foil up around the top of the loaf and put on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, open the foil and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top, gently pushing some of the cheese down into the cut bread. Separate and scatter the pepperoni over the top, shoving some into the sliced bread, too.

Leave the foil open and return the pan to the oven or grill and raise the heat to 425°F or HIGH for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Let set for 3 minutes before garnishing with additional chopped scallions, if desired. Serve while still hot or warm.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/11/16/pizza-party-bread/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Bacon Cheeseburger Mini-Meatloaves and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes | {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

November 15, 2012 by 115 Comments

 

Update: The Pick a Giveaway Winner plug-in chose MaryG as the winner. MaryG, congratulations! Please email me with your information so the book can be sent right away.

I love cookbooks. I have a lot of cookbooks. As in AH- LAWT of cookbooks. Shelves and shelves and boxes and boxes of cookbooks are mine. Some of them I like more than others, obviously; some of them speak to me.

Not literally, mind you, that’d be crazy.

What I mean is some of them NAIL my way of eating. The Meatloaf Bakery Cookbook: Comfort Food with a Twist by Cynthia Kallile is one of those. I have to admit, the cookbook surprised me a little… I honestly didn’t expect to be blown away by -of all things- a meatloaf cookbook. From the moment I pulled the book from the envelope, though, I was hooked. Hardcore.

The cover has tiny little cupcake meatloaves with beautifully piped mashed potatoes and a dusting of paprika, a meatloaf pot pie, ADORABLE little meatloaf appetizers with stars of mashed potatoes, a meatloaf in pastry and something that I couldn’t identify but still wanted to eat. Desperately. (I later found out it was a baked mac-and-cheese with crispy bits.)

The first test of any cookbook, though, is how hungry it makes you when you eat it. Usually, I find that when I flip through a cookbook, I find a handful of recipes appealing with one or two must-makes in the mix. Not this time. This time, I wanted to make every. single. recipe. from the Chili Chili Bang Bang (a chili flavoured meatloaf with beans ground into it baked with cornbread on top) to the Omega-3 Meatloaf (a fresh salmon meatloaf topped with *GASP* wasabi mashed potatoes.) I mean, really… There was an Herby Turkey Meatloaf that momentarily made me rethink my Thanksgiving plans.

Photo Courtesy of The Meatloaf Bakery Cookbook by Cynthia Kallile

Let me tell you, it was HARD to narrow down what the first recipe I’d try would be.

This cookbook actually inspired me to drive to the store to get meat so I could make something from it. “Big deal!”, you say? Oh, it IS a big deal. For me, an impulse trip to the store means a half an hour drive in either direction.

I settled on the recipe called “No Buns About It Burger Loaf”. It was, in essence, a bacon cheeseburger meatloaf (with chopped pickle in it!!!!) topped with creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes. Like a dingbat, I forgot to write down the ingredients I needed before I drove to the store, so I did the best I could from memory. I ended up with the crucial stuff (a big old chuck steak to stick through my meat grinder) but blanked on some of the supporting players. I had many fabulous stand-ins at home (for instance, white cheddar vs. the specified yellow cheddar, yogurt vs. the sour cream, and Romano vs. the asked-for asiago/parmesan combo.) so I went ahead anyway.

I didn’t mess around, people. I was confident enough in the recipe after reading it to jump in with both feet and start off with a double  batch. Half of the batch I cooked as directed in greased large muffin tins, the other half I baked in a loaf pan.

The smell of these cooking was enough to drive me to distraction. They smelled like bacon cheeseburgers. I piped mashed potatoes on the little muffin ones when they were done and served them at the dinner table and awaited the reaction.

Hooooooooooooboy.

Locusts have nothing on my family. Those meatloaves disappeared at light speed. That evening was youth group night for my eldest son, so after clearing the dishes and before driving my boy, I wrapped the leftover loaf version of what we had eaten and said, “Honey, don’t eat this. Okay? Please? Eat anything else in the fridge that you’d like, but please leave this. I want to make meatloaf sandwiches tomorrow.” He responded, “No problem!”

Two hours later, I arrived home to find an empty platter with a wadded up piece of plastic wrap and a penitent husband who greeted me at the door with an earnest, “I couldn’t help it! It was so good!”

I will be cooking my way through this cookbook. I honestly didn’t know I was such a nut over meatloaf until I read it. The two of my friends who have thumbed through the book at my house looked at me and asked boldly, “Will you be doing a giveaway of this or should I just buy it now?”

I’ll tell you this, too… At least one of those friends decided she couldn’t wait to see if she would win and went out immediately to buy her own copy.

The good news is I DO have a copy to give away. The good folks at Cynthia Kallile’s publisher have offered me a copy of this fantastic cookbook to give away to one of you. Details on the giveaway are below the recipe.

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Bacon Cheeseburger Mini-Meatloaves and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes | {GIVEAWAY]

Bacon Cheeseburger Mini-Meatloaves and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes | {GIVEAWAY]

These mini-meatloaves taste just like a good old-fashioned bacon cheeseburger straight down to the finely diced dill pickle in them! Top them with creamy, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, a little extra dill pickle and a sprinkling of sesame seeds (instead of a sesame seed bun) and you'll be in seventh meatloaf heaven!

Gently adapted from and with thanks to "The Meatloaf Bakery Cookbook" by Cynthia Kallile.

Ingredients

    For the Bacon Cheeseburger Mini-Meatloaves:
  • 1/2 pound (8 ounces) bacon, cut crosswise into small slices
  • 3/4 cup finely diced cooking onions
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
  • 1 cup panko or plain white bread crumbs
  • 1 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar plus extra for garnish
  • 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1/4 cup well-drained finely diced dill pickles plus extra for garnish
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup milk, beaten
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 black pepper
  • nonstick cooking spray
    • For the Cheesy Mashed Potatoes:
  • 8 Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1/4 cup whole milk, warmed in the microwave
  • 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons plain yogurt or sour cream
  • 1 1/3 cups shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded romano cheese
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cook the bacon in a frying pan until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Pour off all but about 1 teaspoon of the bacon grease. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until softened. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Combine the remaining meatloaf ingredients well with your hands in a mixing bowl. Grease 6 large or 12 standard sized non-stick muffin pan. Use your hands to mound the tops of the meatloaves so they're domed.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes (for the standard sized mini-loaves) to 40 minutes (for the large loaves) or until the middle of the interior of the loaves measures 160°F on an instant read or meat thermometer and the meatloaf tops are browned.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool a couple of minutes before trying to remove the loaves.

When you can handle the pan, unmold the meatloaf cupcakes and set on a cutting board or flat pan to prepare for "frosting" with the mashed potatoes.

To Make the Cheesy Mashed Potatoes:

Cover the peeled and chunked potatoes with cold water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes until they are fork tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes in a colander and return them to the hot pan. Add the milk, butter, and yogurt to the potatoes and mash until very smooth. Add the shredded cheeses to the hot potatoes and mash that into the potatoes until melted into the potatoes. Taste the potatoes and adjust with salt and pepper. If you're going to pipe the potatoes onto the mini-meatloaves, you want to be sure you don't have chunks as those could block the pastry tip. If you're going to dollop or spread it on top, you don't need to be quite as thorough in eliminating lumps of potato.

To Serve:

Dollop or spread mashed potatoes on top of the meatloaf cupcakes ~OR~ insert any large tip into a 12-inch to 14-inch pastry bag. Fill with the hot Cheesy Mashed Potatoes. Be careful as the bag will be hot to the touch! Pipe the potatoes onto the tops of the meatloaf cupcakes. Serve immediately, topped with extra pickles, shredded cheese and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, if desired.

Leftovers, if you have them, can be stored tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated in either the microwave or a moderate oven (350°F.)

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/11/15/bacon-cheeseburger-mini-meatloaves-and-cheesy-mashed-potatoes-giveaway/

Let’s get to some giveaway details, shall we? There are a couple of ways to enter.

Mandatory Entry:

What’s the best meatloaf you’ve ever had? Was it studded with loads of vegetables? Did it use dried onion soup mix? Was it topped with gravy or ketchup? Talk details in a comment below!

Optional Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry to be sure it’s counted!):

A winner will be chosen using the “Pick a Winner” plugin here on Foodie With Family. I will announce our lucky winner on Monday morning. Good luck, folks, this is a serious keeper of a cookbook!!!

Disclosure: I received a free copy of the cookbook for review and a copy is being provided by Adams Media for the purposes of the giveaway, but all opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Giveaways!, Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Zombie Apocalypse Tres Leches Cake | Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

November 14, 2012 by 5 Comments

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be zombies. Isn’t that how the song goes?

Something like that, yes?

My eldest baby is just about to turn fifteen. It’s kind of freaking me out a little bit. I hit major freak out territory when I realized -thanks to his observation- that he’ll be old enough to vote in the next presidential *CHOKE* election *HACK*. I’m sorry. It’s just kind of giving me respiratory distress to think that this sweet little chubby boy I birthed is not only nearly old enough to vote, but is only a year away from driving. (Another of his observations, thankyouverymuch.) Eek!

I’m going to fan myself for a minute. Or get some smelling salts. Do they sell smelling salts any more? I kind of think they should come standard issue for mothers of sons.

The aforementioned son had a few of his best and biggest friends (because WHEN did they all get taller than me? Salts. Gimme my smelling salts.) over to celebrate ahead of time. The guys had a few simple requests.

  • Food. Lots of food. Mostly Cheddar Tailgating Bread, please.
  • They wanted to watch Napoleon Dynamite and Inception.
  • More bread? Maybe more than one loaf per person?
  • They wanted an epic Nerf battle.
  • They wanted cake.
  • They wanted to play Zombie Apocalypse.

I was all in ’til they got to the last part and said, “What?” Zombie Apocalypse, it was explained to me, was pretty much just tag. Well, except that it had to be after dark and the one who was it pretended to be a zombie and eat others’ brains turning them into zombies and thereby… Blah blah blah. That’s where I tuned it out. I asked a the only question I could think of other than ‘why?’ , “Does anyone actually get hurt?” They assured me no one’s brains were actually eaten in the process, so I gave it my stamp of approval and started baking a cake.

Chocolate Tres Leches sounded about right to me. My plan was to hit it with a little chunky strawberry sauce before plating. I got a little distracted by the  screams of horror from the faux zombies inmy front yard while I was blending the strawberries with the other ingredients, though, and ended up with a silky smooth puree. Those Vitamixes are super efficient.

When the Zombie Apocalypse was finished, the newly minted un-dead came in for the cake.

As I drizzled the strawberry sauce over the cake, someone remarked, “HEY! That looks like BLOOD!” and thus, Zombie Apocalypse Tres Leches was born.

Clearly the zombies hadn’t been satisfied by their recent brain feast, because I got exactly zero pieces of the cake before they polished it off.

Nine out of nine zombies agree, this cake is better than brains.

 

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Zombie Apocalypse Tres Leches Cake | Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

Zombie Apocalypse Tres Leches Cake | Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

This chocolate tres leches cake is decadent devil's food cake topped with chocolate pudding, whipped cream and drizzled with a smooth and punchy strawberry sauce.

Perfect for special occasions and birthdays for your favourite zombies.

Ingredients

    For the Chocolate Cake:
  • 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (can substitute whole milk if necessary)
  • For the Good Stuff on Top:
  • 3 cups of your favourite chocolate pudding (I use a double batch of Nana's Spanish Style chocolate pudding.
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • For the Zombie Apocalypse Strawberry Sauce:
  • 1 pound frozen strawberries, partially thawed
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Instructions

To Make and Bake the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch by 2-inch baking pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a batter blade, or with a hand mixer in a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, and vanilla until it is fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and cocoa powder until no lumps remain. If you can't whisk out the lumps, push it through a sieve or sift it.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the contents of the mixing bowl. Beat it in on medium low until no dry pockets remain. Add 1/3 of the milk and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue adding the flour and milk alternately, mixing until combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. The last addition should be milk. Mix just until evenly combined.

Spoon the cake batter into the pan. Smooth the top of the batter and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake pulls away from the edges of the pan a bit and a skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan on the rack completely before proceeding.

When cake is cool, use a skewer or chopstick to poke holes all over the cake. Pour the pudding on top of the cake, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cake and let it soak for at least an hour but up to overnight before proceeding.

To Make the Zombie Apocalypse Strawberry Sauce:

Put the partially thawed berries, granulated sugar and balsamic vinegar together in the blender and blend on high until smooth. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve the cake.

To Top and Serve the Cake:

When ready to serve, whip the heavy cream, confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract together until you reach soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream over the cake evenly. Cut the cake into pieces of desired size. Drizzle individual servings with the Zombie Apocalypse Strawberry Sauce.

Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/11/14/zombie-apocalypse-tres-leches-cake-chocolate-tres-leches-cake/

P.S. Don’t feel too badly for me. I made another one and ate a third of it by myself.

Filed Under: Cakes, Desserts, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Dirty Chai | Make Ahead Mondays

November 12, 2012 by 11 Comments

Dirty chai sounds kind of wrong, doesn’t it? In a sense, really, it is. It’s the marriage of tea and coffee. …And in another sense, it’s a metaphor for my marriage. I am a tea drinker. My husband is a coffee drinker. In fact, he never voluntarily drank tea until he met me. I lived in a boarding house while attending college and one of the fellow boarding house residents was a part-time drummer who was sitting in with The Evil Genius’s band. When I met him, I thought he was cute and offered him a cup of tea. He accepted. Little did I know at the time that he hated tea, but he was apparently smitten enough with me to say yes.

In the years to follow, I realized just how much that gesture meant. In short, it was like a giant hubba hubba.

Anyway, back to the dirty chai. Dirty Chai is what happens when you spill an espresso into a perfectly good cup of chai, or -as my husband would say- pour a perfectly good espresso into a cup of chai. You see? It’s compromise. And this compromise is mighty tasty. Somehow they work -kind of like The Evil Genius and I- against all intuition. I guess it’s because it’s the strongest of both worlds. Chai packs a punch and so does espresso. It’s fortified chai (or espresso, depending on who in the Foodie With Family household you ask.) It wakes you up and gets you going.

This delightful concoction takes advantage of our homemade Spiced Orange Chai Concentrate which makes this the perfect Make Ahead Mondays post. Make double the concentrate and freeze half, two-thirds or three-quarters of it in mason jars. Pull out before parties or on Christmas morning and be so glad you’re the think-ahead type.

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Dirty Chai | Make Ahead Mondays

Dirty Chai | Make Ahead Mondays

Dirty Chai is what happens when you throw convention to the wind and marry tea and coffee. Earthy, sweet, spicy, creamy chai latte gets a high-octane kick from a shot of espresso. Drink adventurously!

Ingredients

Instructions

Heat the Spiced Orange Chai Concentrate with the milk and pour in the shot of espresso. Stir gently just a couple of times. Dust the Dirty Chai with ground cinnamon just before serving if desired.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/11/12/dirty-chai-make-ahead-mondays/

This is the perfect time for me to tell you a little something about the Syntia Focus espresso machine that the good folks at Philips Saeco sent to me because they wanted my opinion on their super automatic espresso maker.

I’m just going to get right to it and break down what we thought of it.

Pros:

  • It grinds coffee beans for you! No pods, no k-cups, no messy refillable versions of either of those. You buy the beans you want, pour them in the top, refill it when it empties, and empty the dregs receptacle when it fills. I like that. We used to fuss with re-fillable pods and the grounds were everywhere which caused me no end of crabbiness.
  • On the subject of the grinder. It’s quiet! We used to use a stand-alone grinder for my husband’s refillable pods and that beast made NOISE. I can’t hear the Syntia Focus’s grinder from upstairs but the other grinder used to wake me up.
  • It brews one cup at a time (or two cups of espresso. Or one long coffee!  Options!!) As a one-coffee-drinker household, that is fabulous. No wasted coffee from pots brewed and over-aged.
  • It cleans up beautifully and easily. Again? No messy grounds going everywhere. You empty the dregs container into the garbage, rinse it and the brew unit and let it air dry. Ta da!
  • It dispenses hot water! YAY from the tea lover. Now, granted, the water is not hot enough for a proper black tea (because that should be boiling), but it’s absolutely, positively perfect for green tea and white tea. That’s pretty amazing.
  • The steam wand froths milk perfectly which makes fabulous steamers for the kidlets. They love their milk frothed with a little chai syrup or boiled cider syrup.
  • This is from my husband (since I already outed myself as a tea drinker): The flavour of the coffee is without compare. He advises you to pick the best coffee bean you can, but whichever one you choose, the Syntia Focus will brew the best cup of espresso or long cup of coffee that it can possibly make.
  • The strength of the brew is adjustable with simple controls.
  • There is a little pre-ground coffee chute into which you can pour pre-ground coffee that’s different than the whole beans you keep stocked in the machine. If you like caffeinated coffee in the morning and decaf in the evening, this is the perfect solution!
  • Once you’ve read the manual, the controls are very intuitive.

Cons:

  • There’s no getting around it, it’s expensive. But if you’re addicted to coffee house drinks and buy them frequently, I can see this actually paying for itself in pretty short order.
  • Unless you preheat the coffee cup with a little steam from the steam wand, it brews a little cooler than my husband would prefer. He says if you drink it right away, it’s perfectly fine, but if you want to tarry over it a bit, you may need to reheat it. I had no such complaint, but I’m not the coffee drinker.
  • This is a machine that requires you to read the manual before you use it the first time. Is that REALLY a con? Only if you’re a manual hater. Like I said, once you’ve read the manual the controls are intuitive.

The Bottom Line:

It’s a cool piece of kitchen equipment and it makes my coffee drinking husband kind of giddy. Our former one-cup brewer to which my husband was absolutely devoted  has been relegated to the basement to make permanent space for the Syntia Focus.

Disclosure: Philips Saeco sent me a Syntia Focus for review but did not compensate me for this post. The opinions are all my own.

Filed Under: Beverages, Product Reviews, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Julio Sauce and Julio Tots | Make Ahead Mondays Cornell University Food Truck Style

October 29, 2012 by 12 Comments

 

I mentioned in my Cuban Sandwiches post that my mom, Free Range Nana, and my sister, Jessamine, and I went to Cornell University to visit my baby sister, Airlia.

What I failed to mention in that post is that Airlia is not just my sister, she is a braniac. Want proof? Here she is outside of the building where she has most of her classes and spends most of her free time.

That’s right folks. Nanoscale science. My sister is a PHYSICS major at Cornell University.  She is currently building a machine to reduce light to its smallest state. As in visible only as a mere particle. Need another example? This is the stuff she does for fun:

I took this picture understanding NOTHING of what was on there except the word torque. For some reason, the word torque has always cracked me up. Anyone else have words that crack them up? No? I’ll be quiet now.

The point is this. She spends her FREE TIME in the LAB. Do we even need to discuss what I did with my free time in college? It’s probably best if we don’t.

Airlia took us all over campus…

And I DO mean all over campus. Up the slope, down the slope, up the slope again, up the one hundred and sixty one steps into the clock tower to watch a chimes concert, into libraries…

The stacks made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. At least until Free Range Nana and Airlia almost got us kicked out of the library for giggling and I almost got us kicked out for sloshing a cup full of ice water as I tried to walk ever so silently after reading the big old SHHHHHHHHHH sign. I failed.

Don’t blink. The angels have the library… Heh. Oh come on. I have to have at least ONE reader that loves Doctor Who.

 

Uncharacteristically, Jessamine didn’t do ANYTHING to get us kicked out of the library. She behaved like a saint, but only in the library. She looks downright beatified right here.

Then all bets were off… I can’t even tell you what she’s saying here. It is so not ‘G’ rated. She took her naughty vitamins before leaving home that day.

 

Gosh, I do love my sisters.

We got to see Airlia’s favourite study spots and her dorm from last year. As we stood in a study hall in the old dorm, she pointed down through the trees and said casually, “That’s where I get Julio fries.”

“Julio-whats?” I asked.

“Julio fries. They’re fries tossed with Red Hot and oregano.”

Go on. Seriously? Are you all aware of my Frank’s Red Hot fixation? If not, let me just say this… by this point in life, I should own stock in the company. It’s not the hottest or fanciest hot sauce, by far, but it is like your best friend for life… you always know it’s there and you can trust it to do what it’s supposed to do.

You know I beat a hot path down to Louie’s lunch truck, trying to act all casual so I wouldn’t embarrass the Rocket Scientist who is my little sister. I didn’t want her to be forever associated with that crazy woman who sprinted down the hill in not-sensible high boots and stood panting at the window of Louie’s Lunch. I was chill. I did a run-walk instead of a sprint.

These Julio Fries are the brainchild of Louie’s Lunch truck on Cornell’s main campus. Louie, whoever he was, was a genius. Red Hot is a vinegar based hot sauce and vinegar is a natch with fries, right? So hot vinegar? Hubba hubba. And I don’t know WHY he put oregano in there, but I’m AWFULLY glad he did, because holy moly. I thought Red Hot was great the way it was, but I don’t know if I’ll ever eat it sans oregano again. It’s the flavour component that I didn’t even know was missing.

Airlia showed us the proper Julio fries eating technique. Yes. She was down by the school yard. Help me out here people. Tell me someone is a Paul Simon fan…

At least Airlia thinks I’m funny. And while I’m no nanoparticle scientist, my little sis thinks I’m pretty smart, too. Especially after I told her as soon as I got home I set to work and figured out the perfect ratio for making our own Julio sauce and then doused a big old batch of crispy tater tots with it. In fact, she called me brilliant.

I’m just going to revel in that for a moment or two. Okay, I’m going to revel in that with the aid of some Julio tots…

In the spirit of scientific inquiry -because I felt so inspired by the trip to Cornell- I did a little experiment with the Julio Sauce and the tots. One bowl had the pre-doused tots. The other had nekkid tots next to a big bowl of Julio Sauce for dipping purposes.

We put on very serious faces and sampled the pre-doused ones then dipped nekkid ones.

The consensus was that we preferred dipping the tots vs. pre-soaking them. They stayed crispier thatta way. Hey Louie! Sauce on the side- is it an option?

God love Louie and his sauce.

Go make yourself some Julio Sauce. It’s what smart people eat.

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Julio Sauce and Julio Tots | Make Ahead Mondays Cornell University Food Truck Style

Julio Sauce is my take on the classic Cornell University dish and sauce served by Louie's Lunch- Julio Fries. The vinegar based hot sauce mixed with oregano adds a burst of flavour to fries -to be sure- but it's also fantastic on all potato dishes. We loved them on tots, home fries and baked potatoes. What will you douse with Julio Sauce?

Ingredients

    For Julio Sauce:
  • 3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
  • 1 heaping tablespoon dry oregano leaves
    • For Julio Tots:
  • 1 bag frozen tater tots

Instructions

To Make the Julio Sauce:

Add the Red Hot and oregano to a container with a tight fitting lid. Fix the lid firmly in place and shake. Store in the refrigerator for up to three months.

To Make Julio Tots:

Prepare frozen tater tots according to package instructions but cook them long enough to be terminally crispy. Super crunchy. Make 'em make noise when you bite 'em is what I'm saying.

Transfer hot, crunchy tots to a bowl and either serve with a side of Julio Sauce for dipping or pour over the tots for a softer dish.

Don't you feel smarter already?

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/29/julio-sauce-and-julio-tots-make-ahead-mondays-cornell-university-food-truck-style/

 

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Cuban Sandwiches | Pressed Toasted Sandwiches

October 27, 2012 by 11 Comments

Check below the post for an update on the Harry & David giveaway.

I had the chance to tour the college town where my baby sister, Airlia, has been for the last two years with my mom and another of my sisters last weekend. We went up one side of Ithaca and down the other in sensible shoes (thank HEAVENS for sensible shoes when walking through a town that is essentially planted on the side of a cliff.) One thing Airlia really wanted us to see was the Ithaca Farmers’ Market. The market was beautiful. It was full of vendors selling seemingly everything; vegetables, meats, potted plants, pottery, jewelry, clothing and ready to eat food. Oh, that ready to eat food…

It was ethnic food heaven.

My mom and sisters parked themselves in front of a Japanese food vendor to get tofu pockets stuffed with sushi. I glanced around… I really, REALLY wanted to go to the Cambodian food vendor, but the line was snaked around the corner and the market was going to close in less than half an hour. I doubted I’d get to the front of the line and my stomach was doing the talking. After mom, Jess and Air got their tofu pockets, we started strolling toward the end of the market we hadn’t explored yet and then the heavens illuminated and angelic voices sang in a glorious choir while pointing at the place I was destined to eat my lunch: the Cuban sandwiches vendor.

“OH CUBANS! THEY HAVE CUBANS. I LOVE CUBANS!!!!!” I hollered as I ran toward the table. I saw my mom and sisters looking around in the background, trying to figure out what I was talking about. “She loves Cubans? What is she talking about? Where are the Cubans?”

Oh, Cuban sandwiches, how I do love thee. It’s a meat lover’s sandwich. This is why my mom and sisters didn’t understand my reaction- they’re all vegetarians. Not only is it for meat eaters, but it is unapologetically so; it’s crammed full of ham, shredded pork, salami (in Miami, but not in Cuba), pickles, cheese and yellow mustard, then slathered with butter and pressed between two hot pans or on a spiffy non-ridged panini kind of thingy. (That is the technical term for the apparatus.)

The bread gets squished around all those magical porky fillings and pickles and mustard and becomes DEAD crisp and buttery on the outside. Oh my gosh, people. A sandwich just doesn’t get any better than this.

Sandwich PSA: Now I want to address something super important about sandwiches. Do not just lay that meat flat on the bread, for the love of all that is good, don’t flop the meat on the bread and call it a day. Please. I beg you. Take some time with the placement of meat on a sandwich. It’s the difference between a SANDWICH and meat on bread. Yes, I realize that I sound crazy and picky right now, but give this a try the next time you make a sandwich. Hold the meat by one end so that it hangs down. Place the bottom edge of the deli meat against the edge of the bread and then let the meat fold -almost accordion like- as it falls onto the bread. I’m telling you, it’s fah-hah-habulous and makes all the difference in the world. Trust me. I worked in a deli in high school.

Let’s have a little chat about how we achieve ultimate Cuban Sandwich-ness, because it doesn’t require all kinds of fancy equipment, but it DOES require a little advance planning and faithful use of oven mitts. Here’s what ya do. You line a nice baking sheet with heavy-duty foil and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Butter your future Cuban sandwiches top and bottom (as in on the very top of the top half of the roll and the very bottom of the bottom half of the roll. Lay them out with a couple of inches between each sandwich.

Spray another piece of heavy duty foil and lay it spray-side down on the sandwiches. Lay another baking sheet on top of the foil. Be sure the pan you have chosen for the top will not rest on the rim of the bottom pan. For instance, use a flat pan on the bottom with a rimmed one on the top (rim facing upward) or use two pans that can nest inside each other for storage. This will allow maximum squish-age on the sandwiches. You can definitely double decker the pans if you’re feeding a regiment like I am. You WILL have to rotate the pans, bottom to top or vice versa midway through cooking.

When that goes into the hot oven, lay seriously heavy pots or landscaping bricks that preheated with the oven on top of the top pan.  This is the only tricky bit… the goal is to evenly weigh the top pan down so you get even squashing of the sandwiches…

Then, when all is said and done you get these.

Oh man. Oh goodness. Oh heavens to Betsy. How badly do you want to eat these? As badly as I do? I’ll fight ya for ‘em.

 

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Cuban Sandwiches | Pressed Toasted Sandwiches

Cuban Sandwiches | Pressed Toasted Sandwiches

This Cuban (and Miami) classic sandwich pairs sweet, baked and shredded pork with garlicky dill pickles, tangy yellow mustard, spicy salami and gooey melted Swiss cheese. The sandwich is pressed as it is toasted making it super crispy on the outside. Sandwiches just don't get better than this.

Ingredients

  • Per Sandwich:
  • 1 Portuguese roll or ciabatta roll
  • 2 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 2-4 slices baked ham or ham off of the bone
  • 2 slices salami
  • 1/2-3/4 cup of shredded, fully cooked pork. I prefer homemade Cuban Pork , of course
  • 1 slice Swiss cheese
  • 2-4 thin slices garlic or kosher dill pickles
  • 1 tablespoon softened butter
  • non-stick cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 500°F with a heavy cast iron skillet or landscaping bricks in it.

Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Halve the roll and lay it cut sides up on a cutting board. Spread the mustard evenly over the insides of the roll. On one side, pile the ham then the pickles then the cheese then the salami. On the other half, spread the shredded pork and lightly press it into the bun. Turn it over onto the other half of the roll. Spread half of the butter on the top of the top roll and half of the butter on the bottom of the bottom roll. Position it on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with as many sandwiches as you're making, being sure to leave enough room between the sandwiches for them to spread as they're squashed.

Spray another piece of heavy-duty foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray and lay it -sprayed side down- on the sandwiches. Put another pan on top, put into the oven and weigh it down with as much oven-safe heavy stuff as you can muster. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, the bread is toasted and golden brown and the whole sandwich is hot through and through.

Serve immediately.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/27/cuban-sandwiches-pressed-toasted-sandwiches/

In news unrelated to sandwiches, I’ve picked a winner for the Harry & David Bear Creek Gift Basket. Scoot right over here and see if you were the winner!!

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Comfort Food, Main Dish, Meat, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

High Peaks Deep Dish Apple Pie and a {GIVEAWAY!} | WINNER ANNOUNCED!

October 25, 2012 by 249 Comments

{UPDATE} The Pick Giveaway Winner plugin chose Christa D. as our winner! Congratulations, Christa! Email me your mailing information and I will forward it onto our friends at Harry & David!

This past summer I had the distinct privilege of traveling to Oregon as part of a group of bloggers brought out by Harry & David to tour their orchards, facilities and community. What a treat! It was wall to wall wonderment, beauty and inspiring people. You don’t get a trip like that every day, I’ll tell ya. Aside from making some great new friends, I came away from it all with a deep respect and affection for Harry & David’s operation and philosophy. They take care of their people – they have employees who have worked there for their entire lives who come from parents who worked their for their entire lives- and the mutual loyalty shows in their products.

As I drove from the very north of Oregon to the very south, I had ample time to admire the pines and peaks of the state. Living in New York, I’m no stranger to mountains and trees, so there was a bit of familiarity mixed in with the newness. Where New York has high peaks, they’re rounded and aged; worn down by elements and time. Oregon’s peaks are young and raw and dramatic. What views!

Harry & David is best known for its pears, but they also have spectacular apples. When they offered to give a gift box to Foodie With Family readers, I had no idea what to pick and posed the question to you all on Facebook. It came down to a tie, so I tossed a coin and was thrilled that the coin favoured a gift box with apples in it, too. It didn’t just have apples though, it had Moose Munch (on which I am now officially dependent), their spectacular pears, summer sausage, cheddar cheese, MASSIVE chocolate covered Oregon cherries, raspeberry galettes, olive oil crackers, and mixed nuts. Oh man. Good choice, people!!! I’m so excited because they sent one to me, too! Whoever wins this thing is going to be one seriously happy camper. (Giveaway details are after the recipe!)

…But first…

We must talk pie. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, pie is the best dessert in the whole world; fruit, crust, sweet, tart, tender fruit, and beauty all in one package. It’s just plain superior to anything else you can make. And I -unsurprisingly, probably- have some very strong opinions on apple pie. Don’t get me wrong, I will eat ANY piece of apple pie put in front of me and take great joy in it, but if I’m making a pie, I’m going to make my favourite version of it and THIS pie is it.

I’m going to tell you right now, I buck tradition in my apple pies. I leave out cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and whatnot. I have no problems with them, but when I’m making the pie, I prefer it without that. I want the vibrant, clean, sparkly apple to shine through without all those other notes to sully it. (Reminder: I will happily eat any sullied apple pies, too.)

I use home canned boiled cider syrup, but you can buy it commercially or -in a pinch- substitute plain apple cider in its stead. Do whatchoo gotta do, but do make this pie. It is as high as New York’s High Peaks and a nod to the apple growing power houses of New York and Oregon. This pie crams twelve big old apples in between two pie crusts and sings APPLE! A light brushing of milk and a generous sprinkling of coarse sugar brings the whole thing home.

Oh mama.

Cut a wedge out of that pie and look at it.

This is a pie to make memories.

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High Peaks Deep Dish Apple Pie and a {GIVEAWAY!}

High Peaks Deep Dish Apple Pie and a {GIVEAWAY!}

This glorious high-peaks, deep-dish apple pie is the ultimate in apple pies. Clean, pure apple flavour shines through and tastes wonderful with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or a big wedge of aged Cheddar on the side.

Ingredients

  • Pie pastry for a double-crust, 9-inch pie
  • 10-12 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup boiled cider syrup or plain apple cider
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup granulated or raw sugar
  • 1/4 cup clearjel or cornstarch
  • Optional: milk and coarse sugar for brushing on the crust

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Roll out half of your pie pastry and line a deep dish pie plate, draping excess over the edges. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, toss the apples with the cider syrup, vanilla extract and lemon juice. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the sugar and clearjel or cornstarch until evenly combined. Pour over the apples and toss to evenly distribute. Use your hands to carefully pile and pack the apple slices into the pie plate. You may have to break up some pieces to find a way to get it all in there and it WILL mound up over the crust, just keep the excess pie crust clean and uncovered.

Roll out the second pie crust so that it is large enough to drape over the apples and around the edges of the pie plate a bit. Tuck the top crust under the excess bottom crust and crimp in whatever style you prefer. Cut a couple of vent holes on top of the crust (slits or shapes), brush the crust with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Put in the oven and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, lower the heat to 375°F and continue baking for 45-50 minutes or until the juices are bubbly in the pie and the apples are tender when pierced through the vent holes. If the crust starts browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil around the edges.

Cool at least to room temperature before slicing if you want the slices to hold together.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/25/high-peaks-deep-dish-apple-pie-and-a-giveaway/

Now let’s talk GIVEAWAY! YES! Just look at everything in this Bear Creek Gift Box.

I have a couple of ways for you to enter.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment telling me your plans for this gorgeous gift basket. Will you use it for appetizers at a dinner party? Share with friends and neighbors? Hide in the closet and eat it all yourself? (I recommend this last option at least for the Moose Munch and chocolate covered cherries.)

Optional Entry 1: Like Foodie With Family on Facebook.

Optional Entry 2: Like Harry & David on Facebook.

Optional Entry 3: Follow Foodie With Family on Twitter.

Optional Entry 4: Follow Harry & David on Twitter.

Don’t forget to leave a separate comment for each one of the optional entries so I can count them all! The approximate retail value of this gift box is $59.99. I will draw a random name on Saturday, October 27th ! Be sure to come back to see if you’ve won! Good luck, everyone!!

Filed Under: Giveaways!, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

October 18, 2012 by 8 Comments

I’m not sure where the time went, but my fourth born just turned nine a couple of weeks ago. I’m a little freaked out by it, honestly. Seemingly overnight, he went from a teensy little bundle of squirmy boy to this:

WHAT?!? Are you kidding me? This little guy -or big guy, I should say- of mine is as easy on the heart as he is on the eyes. Sweet, kind, considerate and slow to anger is my boy. Don’t get me wrong; he’s plenty spunky. He’s a total stinkpot. This is the boy who in one day sat on the couch crying a little because he loves dogs so much and “kind of wants to be one” and wanted five more dogs (in addition to the three we already have) then five minutes later gave his baby brother an impromptu and unasked for haircut.

He’s my little drummer boy. He’s a wild man. He doesn’t walk; he bounces.  One time my little sister said, “Can you imagine what great shape we’d all be in if we acted like Leif all the time?” She then tried for five minutes before giving up exhausted.

Remember Leif Ericson, the Viking? Do you also remember his nickname was Lucky Leif? Maybe it’s something about the name… This Leif of mine is THE four-leaf clover finding champion. As in, every time he goes out into our yard and there’s no snow cover, he finds at least five or six of them. There’s been a time or two that he’s found them even when there WAS snow. He finds them in other people’s yards. This is my Lucky Leif.

I like him.

I’ll keep him.

When asked what he wanted as his birthday cake, he exclaimed, “STRAWBERRY CAKE! With that chocolate shiney stuff!” Yes, sir. I’d do anything for you, you sweet little wild child. Well, except get another dog. That’s out. Sorry. The cake though? No problem.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Lucky Leif.

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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

This festive, fun, moist strawberry cake is covered in rich dark chocolate ganache. It's like a chocolate covered strawberry truffle!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 (3 ounce) package of strawberry flavoured gelatin mix
  • 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 3/4 cups cake flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
  • 1 cup strawberry puree made from frozen and thawed strawberries
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • butter and flour for the pan
    • For the Ganache:
  • 1 pound dark chocolate chunks (or chopped dark chocolate)
  • 2 cups heavy cream

Instructions

To Bake the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans. Set aside.

Cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy using a stand mixer or hand mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl with a whisk. In a measuring cup, blend together the strawberry puree, milk and vanilla extract.

Add about 1/3 of the flour blend to the butter and beat in, scraping down the sides after mixing it in. Add about 1/3 of the strawberry mixture and mix in. Repeat with the flour then strawberry mixtures until done. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.. Cool the cakes in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Gently turn the cakes out onto the wire rack to finish cooling completely before icing with the ganache.

To Make the Ganache:

Put the chocolate chunks or chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan over medium to medium high heat until bubbles form around the edges. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit, undisturbed, for 5 minutes. Use a whisk to stir gently in one direction until thick and glossy. Remove the whisk and place the bowl, uncovered, in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, stirring and scraping the edges every couple minutes, just until thickened enough to spread instead of pour.

To Assemble the Cake:

If necessary, level the cakes by trimming off any domed top.

Place one cake round on a cake plate. Scoop about 3/4 cup of the chocolate ganache into the center of the cake. Spread gently over the cake to the edges. Center the second cake over the first one. Spread the remaining ganache over the top and sides of the cake.

Let stand long enough for the ganache to firm up. This can be sped up by placing the cake in the refrigerator.

Store uneaten cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. It tastes best if served at room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/18/chocolate-covered-strawberry-cake/

Filed Under: Cakes, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: , ,
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